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On the Come Up

by Angie Thomas

A young rapper confronts the story others tell about her

Regular price $17.09 USD
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Hardcover New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A young rapper confronts the story others tell about her

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to make her mark in hip-hop, carrying the legacy of her late father, an underground rap figure. When a song she writes in response to anger and frustration goes viral and is misrepresented, she faces public scrutiny alongside pressures at home: her mother has lost her job, and the family is threatened with eviction. The novel connects Bri’s ambitions to questions of how young Black people are perceived and whether they can speak freely without consequence. Hip-hop is central to both her artistic goal and the conflict surrounding her growing public profile.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in stories about ambition and family pressures.
  • Readers interested in hip-hop and its role in a young artist’s life.
  • Readers interested in media portrayal, race, and freedom of speech.

Themes

Hip-hop and artistic ambitionFamily and economic hardshipRace and public perceptionFreedom of speech

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The YA love letter to hip-hop--streaming on Paramount+ September 23, 2022! Starring Sanaa Lathan (in her directorial debut), Jamila C. Gray, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Lil Yachty, Method Man, Mike Epps, GaTa (Davionte Ganter), Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Titus Makin Jr., and Michael Anthony Cooper Jr.

#1 New York Times bestseller - Seven starred reviews - Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book

Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri's got massive shoes to fill. But it's hard to get your come up when you're labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral . . . for all the wrong reasons.

Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn't just want to make it--shehas to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.

Insightful, unflinching, and full of heart, On the Come Up is an ode to hip hop from one of the most influential literary voices of a generation. It is the story of fighting for your dreams, even as the odds are stacked against you; and about how, especially for young black people, freedom of speech isn't always free.

"For all the struggle in this book, Thomas rarely misses a step as a writer. Thomas continues to hold up that mirror with grace and confidence. We are lucky to have her, and lucky to know a girl like Bri."--The New York Times Book Review

Plus don't miss Concrete Rose, Angie Thomas's powerful prequel to her phenomenal bestseller, The Hate U Give!

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